Texans Move to Nullify Federal Education?

A new article in The Austin-American Statesman reports that Cynthia Dunbar, a member of the Texas State Board of Education, has introduced a new bill to the board that would nullify the Federal Board of Education’s claim to authority in Texas. The resolution posted by The Statesman reads as follows:

The resolution posted by The Statesman reads as follows:

RESOLUTION

WHEREAS the members of the State Board of Education as elected officials. have each independently taken an oath to uphold the Constitution ofthe United States; and

WHEREAS. preserving the integrity of our Constitution is essential to preserving both the appropriate jurisdiction of and the limitations upon our federal government; and

WHEREAS unauthorized government intrusion beyond the parameters outlined within the Constitution is tantamount to a direct assault upon the rights ofthe states and ultimately an assault upon the rights of the sovereign, the people; and

WHEREAS. to allow such a blatant attack upon the rights of the states and the people to go unchecked would be to allow the establishment of tyranny; and

WHEREAS. in preserving and upholding the Constitution. it is incumbent upon this Board to also recognize the Constitution’s nature as a document of enumerated powers and that the 10th Amendment specifically reserves all other rights not enumerated therein to the states and the people; and

WHEREAS. authority over educational policies does not fall within the purview of the Federal government and. as such all efforts by the federal government towards such control are unconstitutional; and

WHEREAS, any federal legislation that attempts to impact the direction ofeducational policy’ is made in excess of Congress’ authority and devoid of any merit; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Education is an unconstitutional bureaucracy. an inappropriate tinancial burden upon the taxpayers ofthe United States and without authority to impose any meaningful or substantive restrictions upon the state of Texas or any’ of its independent school districts.

RESOLVED that the Texas State Board of Education does hereby publicly declare the Department of Education to be an unconstitutional entity which is totally devoid ofany rightful authority; and be it further

RESOLVED that the Texas State Board of Education will not in any way acknowledge or recognize directives regarding the establishment of educational policy lor the state of Texas from either the Department of Education or from unconstitutional federal legislation; and be it further

RESOLVED that this resolution shall be presented to the Department of Education and that a copy of this Resolution be included in the permanent records of the State Board of Education; and be it further

RESOLVED that said Department of Education shall be put on notice that any such unconstitutional directives given by it to the Texas State Board of Education will be met with the principle of nullification and the clear admonition of “Don’t Mess with Texas!”

WITNESS our signatures this day of ___ in the year of our Lord two thousand and _ Austin, TX

Though far from a reality, the very existence of this resolution is an indication that the Federal Government’s monopoly on education policy may be waning. Dunbar’s motivation for the removal of Federal control may be rooted more in her own personal theology than liberty, but her bill could easily be taken up by mainstream Texans who simply want to have a say in what their children are taught in public schools. Dunbar will be leaving the board at the end of the current term.

126 thoughts on “Texans Move to Nullify Federal Education?”

This is Nullification! This is the most exciting thing ever! Finally, someone is using this legal means to stop the erosion of States' Rights by an ever intrusive Federal take-over. Now, the other 49 States need to follow suit…..and use Nullification to stop all other unconstitutional edicts! Then….interpose State Militias between Federal agents and the people. The Governor of each state is the Commander of the state military according to the Constitution.

(And I hope I spelled everything right since that's the only criticism some folks could muster!)

For those who are not aware of the wonderful work Cynthia Dunbar has done while serving on the SBOE please be aware that she is a "warrior" who has been fighting for the rights of your children to be taught using programs that work such as phonics and English grammar rules. She has fought for the rights of your children to be taught that evolution is a theory and not a Scientific Law. She has championed the right of our children to be taught that though the USA has made mistakes throughout history, our country is still an exceptional country.

From this resolution you can probably tell she believes the Constitution and other founding documents are based on the unique idea that America's citizens derive their rights from God rather than from government, and since God gave us our rights, government cannot take them away. She is not advocating Civil War . She is advocating the federal government follow the Constitution and allow the states to run their own schools.

It is not surprising that Cynthia Dunbar has given us this resolution as a present before she leaves the SBOE to pursue her law career and to sell her book. We cannot expect her to continue to work for free for the rest of her life. She has given us a great portion of her life already. An American Indian, Cynthia was able to look backward and forward to give the SBOE and Texas Education a unique perspective on America. I appreciate her service to the Texas Public Education System and I wish her well in her new career.

I LOVE it !!!!! Go Texas GO !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tell the Feds to STICK it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If Texas really does this and "sticks to their guns", in a few years, I'll bet Texas kids will be the SMARTEST kids in the whole damned country !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank God for Texas , Texas has taken the lead in curtailing the excesses of the federal government . With the text book controversy , the Muslim political correctness and lack of support of Christianity over Islam , and now the DOE rejection . With Govenor Perry leading the republican governors he needs to continue Texas leadership , pick up Oklahomas Sharia law ban and Arizonas immigration law and get all republican governors to follow suit on all this . We need our Constitutional Republic back .

I'll go Ms. Dunbar one better. Since education is NOT an ENUMERATED power granted to the federal govt. by the U.S. Constitution We should introduce a bill to ELIMINATE THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION!!! Think of all the money we could save while eliminating an organization that should NEVER have been authorized under the constitution.

The only reason for the existence of the department of Education is to act as a govt. lobbying arm to reward the teachers unions and the NEA, After all O Bow Mao himself said "I OWE THE UNIONS BIG TIME"! That is a universal DemonRAT sentiment.

Wake up, Texas has the right Idea stand up for yourself. If we dont obviously no one will. Please people remember the foundations the United States was founded on and fight for them for our children and grandchildren. This President has made a mockery of the United States of America. Think back and be proud of our country and let that pride take over and we the people take back our country one state at a time if need be.

CONGRATULATIONS TEXANS! God Bless you all for standing up and defending the constitutional rights we have. all these bureaucrats have no right to be in the position of power and should be fire for their lousy job they had performed. We need candidates with a Real backbone who loves this country for what it stand and its citizens! Most of them had become millionaires with our sufferings with higher taxes every time they want to imposed them and self-serving themselves with salary increases and all the freebies it comes with it. It's outrageous and shameful what some of them had done to our great country and it's time to send them to get a real job back home to take care of their families. We can do it if we ALL get UNITED and willing to change the socialist/marxist government imposed on us by the Kenyan citizen! Wake Up America!

I remember what my grandfather said when my father told him about the "new school lunch program."
I did not understand it then as I was only in the second grade (early fifties). My grandfather said, "That is the beginning of the end of education in America. The federal government now has their foot in the door. They will proceed to take over and destroy the education system." Dad was surprised, but time has proven my grandfather to be right.

Who started the department of Education? Tell me again? Jimmy Carter was it? the worst President until now!!! What does this say. How has nation-wide education fared against the rest of the world since this crime was committed? Lousy! We can do the job in-state, there doesn't need to be anyone else telling each state how to educate our kids! Time for the FED to butt OUT!!!

I'm a married woman that does not cheat on her husband! However, I'd like to kiss every single one of these people right on the mouth. Seems they have more spine than I'd given credit for!
ABOUT TIME I SEE SOME SANITY!

Texas is amazing. They are setting the standards for what every state should do. Parents and communities should be running the schools–not the NEA and not the Department of Education. The Bible should be brought back into the schools. This nation's primary religion is Christianity in its various forms. Until this changes, other religions should not be given preferential treatment in our society. Parents have the right to use whatever textbooks they want. Students should not be subjected to textbooks that leave out our Christian heritage. May God enable Texas to continue and succeed in this fight. May she continue to lead the other states in every effort necessary to restore freedom in this great country.

We need to all follow the example of Texas, and take our country back state by state. They are quickly trying to take our right away to do that. We need to act quickly before we are just another 3rd world country and our children will be ruled , and freedom will be a thing of the past. China is angry and on our coast sending up missiles from submarines, and Obama is running all over the world telling everyone we are not a Judeo Christain country and planning to be away again from our country when we celebrate Christ's birthday. We had better wake up. George Soros and his money is using Obama to destroy our heart and soul.

We need to take out the GARBAGE in this country, as in,obuma ,pislosi,reid, feinstein,boxer and last but not least the clintons,alias bonnie & clyde, two of the biggest thievingist dam crooks in this country.

I've said many times we could save millions maybe billions of $$$$ if we were to go back to the Constitution. Do away with the DOE, it's a state responsibility. Do away with the DOI. It is a states responsibility. Do away with any Fed Level agency that is not specifically called for by the Constitution. I.E. It is the responsibility of the Fed to protect the people of the USA. Therefore they should have a DOD. I have to wonder if we were able to rid ourselves of these Unconstitutional bueracracies how much would be save annually? How fast would our deficit disappear?

Way to go TEXAS. I hope more follow your lead. We need to get the marxist anti american Obama out of DC as soon as possible. Too bad the reps did not get the senate too maybe they would remove him from the white house permanently.

If you can read, you can teach someone to read, if you love to learn, you will impart that to your children. No one will ever do better by your children than you yourself! Try it, you'll actually like it and your children will too.
Taxes for eduacation would not be necessary if parents took responsibility for their own children and STAYED HOME to love them and teach them what they need to know so that they will become productive, compassionate people and citizens.

Good Start Texas! I can think of several other Federal Departments that are an absolute waste of taxpayer money and basically UNCONSTITUTIONAL!… There is no "Republic" anymore… We have to get it back, or we'll be 'France' in another few years. It amazes me how the Socialist agenda has crept up on the Republic since the end of WWII (mostly in the 60's though). It's the same tactic that Al Quida has recently, publicly endorsed… "Death to America by a thousand paper cuts". One after the other… each little "insignificant" law, rule or establishment is systematically removed, altered or replaced with a socialist one. I'm tired of thinking 'Globally' We're the United STATES of America… NOT the Union of Socialist States of America… UGH!!!!

Lady_Dr. Most "churches" are licensed by the state, thus state owned/controlled. (5013-c) They are also 'led' (sic), by weak-kneed, panty-waist clergy who won't dare say anything for fear they might offend someone, (but having no concern they might offend Yahweh/God).

The 'license' issue has long been settled in the Sup. Ct. (see Church of The New Testment v. State). NO church NEEDS a 'license' to have tax-free status because the 1st Amendment prohibits a law being passed to tax same in the first place.

The big problem is the clergy and their fear of offending someone… They are weak and simply don't care, just as We the SHEEPle don't care! We are useless against our enemies within!

Obviously We the SHEEPle are quite happy with the way things are, and we haven't seen anything yet!!!

"Widespread belief in the myth of neutrality, the idea
that God is neutral in most areas of thought and life and is only
particular about “religious” things, led many to abandon Christian
education for “public education” and to forsake the application of
all of Scripture to all areas of life. In the “public schools” Christians
first accepted a watered-down, lowest-common-denominator
Christianity which neglected the whole counsel of God revealed in
the Bible. Then they acquiesced in the gradual de-Christianization
of the textbooks. The result of these things was a Christian retreat
from Biblically-principled educational, social, and political involvement.
This in turn created a vacuum which non-Christian bodies of
thought were eager to fill."
A quote from, The Christian Life and Character, pg 12

Thank you Cynthia Dunbar,for having the fortitude to stand up to the Federal gov't.The Fed's have long had a policy of, we will help you financially,but you will have to do what we say.Kind of like the godfather.Our fed's are no different than any other socialist gov't.They have just been a little kinder and gentler.But with this Obama administration the fed's are flexing their communistic muscle alot more.And they don't seem to care about our Constitution at all.It is past time that we did something about it. Thanks

No point in getting into the old chicken-or-the-egg theological & philosophical arguments on this forum. The U.S. Constitution was written by extremely intelligent educated men who had seen tyranny in action.

God or no God (or nature’s God), they believed that individual conscious beings should not subject other beings to servitude, period!

Be it a tyranny of any form (government, religion, companies, banks, mobs, gangs, or any group or any individual), this is evil by any definition.

The human race will become an endangered species if we continue to allow oppression to prevail. Tyranny is caused by laziness (of the body, mind and spirit) – pure and simple – not just by the oppressor, but by the people who give that oppressor his/her/their power.

Lazy people are parasites. A tyrant is a parasite. The federal school system is a parasite. Soros is a parasite. What do we do with parasites? Destroy them before they destroy us.

Go Texas,This is what we have to do,Everyone Start telling them not asking, we don't want your B.S. any longer! To coin an old baseball cry" THROW THE BUMS OUT". Now lets get the rest of the States to follow suit!

The annual budget (think it was FY09) for the Dept of Ed. is about $49 billion. Has a federal bureaucrat in Washington EVER taught a child to read, improved their reading proficiency, helped them with math, or history, or science? The answer is a resounding NO! Why should my tax dollars (yes, I'm part of the 50% who actually pay taxes) go to support a federal bureaucracy that doesn't pay any attention to what I think when that money could go directly to local school districts to hire more/better teachers, buy more computers for schools, build better facilities, etc.? Is it not more appropriate for elected officials at the state and local level, who are accountable to voters and LOCAL taxpayers, have control over the billions of $$ rather than some political appointee in Washington of someone (the President) who I don't agree with ideologically or philosophically? Education of our children is perhaps the most important role in society and should never be left up to faceless bureaucrats in Washington. I know and have spoken with the TX state Brd of Ed. rep for my district and I feel completely comfortable that if I have an issue, I can go to him. The local school board meets less than a mile from my home and if I have an issue, I can go to a school board meeting. Conversely, could I even get in the door of the DoE in Washington?
Go TEXAS!!! I wasn't born here but got here as fast as I could!!

Steve,
Just wanted to let you know that I have been homeschooling my kids beginning 15 years back. Guess what? It cost us about $1,500 a year. How is it possible that the government require thousands per kid in public schools? I suppose it's the fact that they have unlimited numbers of teachers and aids who need to be payed. I wouldn't take issue with it so much,I guess,if they were actually producing graduates who could think for themselves.
I believe taking some of the power away from teachers unions begins with a proposal like the one we are reading about here. I hope that Texans consider it seriously.

Yesterday I attended and offered testimony at the Texas Senate State Affairs and Health & Human Services committee now considering implementation of Obomacare here in Texas. Many of the attendees were demanding the Texas legislature nullify Obomacare.

This was tryed in the 90,s, The republic of Texas, alot happen back then, It will happen agian. Texan,s will not put up this much longer, and will be it,s own country with it,s own goverment, embassy,s and it,s own President, It,s Great Belief In God and the constitution, It will not Faulture, And Will Stand True, God Be With Texas, And God Have Mercey on those who Trust pass.

Yay for Texas! I think the best way to make the federal government do its Constitutional job is to have the states ignore anything that steps over the line of granted authority . The fed will fight back by withholding funding for various things and doing various other nasty acts, but if the states can withstand the federal backlash, that will be a huge step toward healing this nation. Arizona tested the waters with SB1070, and look how the fed "supported" them.

The fed is corrupt and broken, and it's filled with people who are NOT following the wise rules and guidance of our Constitution, which strictly LIMITS its powers. A quick glance at the way this nation has been governed over the last 2 years and how the party in power has passed its legislation should give you a clear idea of how far off course this nation has come.

NO country in the world allows thise abuse, except the USA! We the people must be heard by our government and we must be first in all governmet decisions, not the other way around! So, yes….Bravo TEXAS… being attached to this corrupt government is like selling your soult to the devil. The liberal judges in our system have gradually transformed thos country into an atheist country and with the communist, and yes I say communist phrase "political correctness" they have managed to shut our mouths and make us feel guilty of claiming our rights. This phrase was a SOVIET invention. They succeded oppresing the people and advancing their agenda by calling people who opposed the government "political incorrect!" This communist phrase was brought to the USA by all the communist who advanced the liberal, socialist and communist agenda in the USA, helped by the mainstream media. TEXAS, you are in the right track!

These babies MUST wait until they are 18 years old to get their American citizenship through the US Embassy in their country. Yes, they must wait and it is not PUNISHING THEM, it's clearly stated in the US immigration law. It is not punishing them. It is a deterrent to more and more immigrants com,ing to the USA thinking that all they have to do is have children in the USA (payed by the hospitals) in order to anchor their right to stay in the USA! We need to enforce our immigration laws.

We citizens are paying for it not only with our dollars, but our children receive a less than desirable education! The government turns deaf ears and eyes away from the reality and all it does is to lable us as political incorrect, biased, prejudiced and what not! I am for LEGAL IMMIGRATION. I am for CHOSING who we want to come to us. I am for go to you American Embassy in your country, fill out the paper work and WAIT like everyone is supposed to do. I am for a government that shows more respect to the legal citizens and BACK US UP and consider resolving the solution of the ILLEGAL ALIENS by sending them back and giving them an opportunity to apply legally and wait. If they anchored babies here, take them with you to your country, your baby automatically by international law has the parents citizenship regardless of wherever they were born.

BRAVO TEXAS! I HOPE THAT YOU MAY BE INDEPENDENT AND CLOSE SCHOOLS TO ILLEGAL ALIENS WHICH COSTS US HERE IN THE USA LOTS OF MONEY FOR ESOL CLASSES (for both children and adults, the latter register and don't even finish the program, TAX $$$ BEING WASTED!)
FREE LUNCH, FREE BREAKFAST, FREE BOOKS, AFTER CARE NAD WHAT NOT. Middle classs workers are being taxed to the tilt to pay for all the services that these invadors are entitled to use! OUR GOVERNMENT (not only OBAMA, but I can count as far back as Jimmie Carter) has been protecting illegals at the espense of us, American citizens. We are becoming more and more a 3rd world country and our school system is chaotic since we have to educate more with a frugal budget.

Let's be objective and think this matter through a little. How would the parents who send their children to the governement schools enjoy sending their money to the Christian or private schools to financially aid those parents? The parents who would send their children to the public school system would rise and deplore such a gesture and loudly proclaim it as "unfair."

I don't suppose it occurs to many people that maybe moms ought to stay home and educate their children. You know why? The fathers and mothers of them would have to forgo working, which means they would have to forgo that second income, which in turn means they would have to miss out on, eating out, going on vacations they feel entitled to, buying that nice car, recarpeting the house etc.etc.
Somehow along the way we have learned to love things more than we love our own kids. This is why they are dumped into the eager hands of strangers teaching them, God only knows what in public schools so we can selfishly go off to our jobs and careers. And don't tell me that "Homeschooling isn't meant for everyone. Some of us couldn't handle it or would constantly be fighting with our kids…" blah blah blah. That sounds highly dysfunctional. By the way,dysfunctional is described in dictionary.com to mean; a consequence of a social practice or behavior pattern that undermines the stability of a social system. Fitting isn't it?

If you can read, you can teach someone to read, if you love to learn, you will impart that to your children. No one will ever do better by your children than you yourself! Try it, you'll actually like it and your children will too.
Taxes for eduacation would not be necessary if parents took responsibility for their own children and STAYED HOME to love them and teach them what they need to know so that they will become productive, compassionate people and citizens.

DAMN RIGHT! GOD BLESS TEXAS! All other states should follow suit if they are smart and want the best for their children. Most federal government involvement is pathetic. Just look at the US Postal Service for example. Many more like them.

Good for Texas. The Federal Government has too long assumed control over matters that they have no business doing, by bureaucrats who have no particular expertise in any particular area that they stick their noses into. Time to cut those noses off!

i have a grandaughter in grade 2 reads grade 5 level i am very proud of her i told her if they start on her about spanish to let me know and about muslim junk because i will have a fit they will know this nanna has been to that school she says the pledge every morning and i told her to thank GOD for her food each day because if it wasnt for GOD she would have nothing GOD BLESS AMERICA

Do you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary to reconcile you to God? Do you further believe that He is not only your Savior but that He is also your Lord? If your answer is yes to both of these questions then there should be no difficulty with your standing up for your right to choose the education of your children. Get involved with "Parent Teacher Meetings", find out what kind of curriculum your children are being taught, and if it goes against your principles join with other like minded parents and work until you get it back to the moral and ethical way it should be. Don't just cry about someone else's agenda being wrong. Stand up for what is right. We have for too many years left the education of our children to Godless people, is it any wonder that they wrote God out of the school house. They are now feeling so empowered that they are trying to write Him out of the Court house, and out of the church
house, don't let them write Him out of your house. AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD. BERT J, VANDERHOOF

Thank you, Cynthia Dunbar. Way to get the ball rolling. I hope every state has someone like you with the good sense and courage to stand up to the federal bully.
"Yes, we can?"
"NO, you WON'T! I'm taking my lunch money back. And GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

We need to all follow the example of Texas, and take our country back state by state. They are quickly trying to take our right away to do that. We need to act quickly before we are just another 3rd world country and our children will be ruled , and freedom will be a thing of the past. China is angry and on our coast sending up missiles from submarines, and Obama is running all over the world telling everyone we are not a Judeo Christain country and planning to be away again from our country when we celebrate Christ's birthday. We had better wake up. George Soros and his money is using Obama to destroy our heart and soul. Everyone needs to sign up above this blog for THE TENTH AMENDMENT NEWSLETTER AND PARTICIPATE.

Since the 1070's, the cost of the DOE has risen expontentialy yet test scores, especially in reading comp have remained flat line! Please explain to me how this works? If you or I performed in our chosen careers in this manner we would be LOOKING FOR WORK!
End the DOE, the Dept or Agriculture, the Dept of Homeland security. Eliminate the Czar positions. CLEAN OUT OUR GOVERNMENT

Yes. It needs to happen. We have the power in numbers. We just need to resist and maintain and quite giving in to the left and to this socialistic progressive movement led by our President and Mr. Soros . Everyone needs to get Glen Becks new book Broke.

Amen Lady_Dr, that's about the only way we can stop this Obama government from taking over all facets of our life and giving Obama his dictatorship as he is dreaming of I'm sure. Keep your guns loaded and don't give them to the government as they may be needed in the near future.

The Texans are openly stating that we made a mistake in 2008 and they are taking steps to change that. We fought a war to preserve the Union…that is not to say that states do not have rights! What an independent system like that will do is to allow states to feed off of the education system of other states to see what is better, who is progressive and what states are teaching a strict liberal agenda hidden in the guise of state issued exams in which the teachers are graded by how many kids pass. Education has to be an independent thing, not the confining crap that the liberal teachers preach. Kids need to be allowed to explore what interests them, and it is up to the teachers to open theses channels, not preach their own beliefs.

If you are an educator you should know the war was not to preserve the "Union" , but to destroy another nation. The Confederate States Of America (the south) had legally seceded from the "union". They formed a government with a constitution, a congress, a senate, and a president, established their own currency, military. They were a sovereign nation attacked by the northern union. Do some research John. I do agree with the remainder of your comment absolutely.

OKAY folks – agreed. There is nothing in the Constitution giving the federal government the right to be involved in the issue of education.

NOW – will someone to start a website, create petitions, etc., etc. contact the churches (they should be big supporters) and other groups. We need to get the word out and get people involved in overthrowing the Dept . of Education and their damn teachers unions. This is a great issue and the time is ripe.

You are right. Vision to America- and WND (World News Daily)websites are actively fighting and making people aware. We need to all become involved with them, support them and give up our Starbucks and expensive lunches and carry on these fights with the BOE, Obama Care, TSA security and all of the massive attempts to remove our freedoms, brain wash our kids, and destroy our country.

It is obvious and wise to do what is taking place in Texas——the Christian Faith is under attack by this administration via the "gay agenda" which through Jennings the school czar, he could try to normalize a perverted lifestyle to innocent kids via brainwashing propaganda and not education–So Texas is wise to not allow this and will keep Gods' Laws above mans laws as Christians and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ….

Do not allow Federal Regulations Take over what is the States Right. Education is one of them. Hurrah for Ms. Dunbar for straightening out the DOE. One more thing I hope we will follow the example set by Arizona about "ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS". Since in this one Federal Government is not implementing the immigration laws.

I would like to see all 50 states pass such legislation and get the Fed out of the States business.
Then the states should move to remove all the educators who are teaching marxist/socialist/progressive values to our children and destroying our country from within.

Thanks for your comment sir! Yes we have allowed for far too long this "political indoctrination" to happen in our education system! Just like sex ed, there are some subjects young impressionable minds SHOULDN'T be exposed to by strangers. P.S. We Americans need another "Chesty" Puller to be our President!!

Don't forget Arizona. We not only passed S.B. 1070 against illegal aliens, but Tom Horne removed the "ethnic" classes from the schools because it was biased and a waste of tax payer's money. He also said that any English teacher who spoke with an accent should be re-assigned.

We need to all follow the example of Texas, and take our country back state by state. They are quickly trying to take our right away to do that. We need to act quickly before we are just another 3rd world country and our children will be ruled , and freedom will be a thing of the past. China is angry and on our coast sending up missiles from submarines, and Obama is running all over the world telling everyone we are not a Judeo Christain country and planning to be away again from our country when we celebrate Christ's birthday. We had better wake up. George Soros and his money is using Obama to destroy our heart and soul.

I find all these comments very interesting. None of them refer to the actual statement to nullify the power of DoE, but rather the (unfair) comment made by the newspaper. I went back and read through the actual quote and could find no reference to God. Why is everyone so afraid of, even if this woman does believe in God? I know a large number (approx 5000+) of people who believe in God and not one of them have ever harmed me of insisted that I believe like them OR ELSE. AND I know approx. that same number who think if I don't think the same as they do, I'm just plain stupid, and get pretty aggressive about it.

Bonnie, the fact is Texas and this highly intelligent lady, realize that the DOEd is just another arm of big brother trying to take our rights away and turning our country into a police state and not allowing us the freedom given to us by her God and my God and most of America's God. We have had more shoved down our throats this last 2 years than can be even truly known.Few know that Obama had written into the first big spending bill that was "suppose to be to stimulate the economy" the DEATH Panel and after it was passed he appointed all the members of it and funded them and their office in the Obama Care legislation. MD's will be reporting directly to them and they will determine who gets surgery and who does not and our older citizens will not or those unable to work and pay to the government. She see's education by the DOEd being dictated to also by the government.The people and the states are losing ground daily with Obama. The scanners we are being herded in and harrassed by will soon be at our schools and places of work. It is all about power, and power over us.

We citizens of Austin have long known and lamented that our only newspaper is very biased and left leaning. I admire this woman for trying to do something about the pitiful state of education in this country. Always proud of my state, I really love when a Texan shakes things up!

November 23, 2010 at 11:13 pm

Ga Nurse

Yes Nicki. George Soros is funding and buying off newspapers all over the country, and had them kissing Obama's feet in order to get control of this country. They are causing the dollar to crash, allowing the citizens to be harrassed and taking away our rights, taking money out of the Fed reserve and not saying what they did with it, allowing Acorn to reorganize under another name still run by SOROS. Everybody should be proud of Texas and Arizona and all the states fighting Obama Care like the lawyers in Virginia and all the other participating states. It has got to happen. It is our freedom. Next it will be our guns and our bibles.

Yes spelling, syntax….etc are important, but there is no denying the message! "Come and take it!" may sound better than "Come and get it!", but the reluctance to move forward into the muzzles of you enemy is just the same. 'Nuff said.

I don't think this was Ms. Dunbar's typos. I think it was Mr. Shonka's lack of proofing his scanned document. Notice the several spaces missing between words and several mistakes like "l" for an "f" (lor instead of for). These are common errors from software that converts scanned images into text. Be careful who you are blaming for these typos.

No one has mentioned how the queers in Salt & Pepper Dude's harem of czars want to influance the teaching (?) of their life styles in the schools. DoED is as weird as the TSA (Terrorist Society of America) is under Pistole Pete. Keep all of them and their weird ideas (for lack of a better word) from messing with Texas!

Amen to that! Considering that this resolution pertains to EDUCATION, which may imply some attention to the details of grammar, spelling, and sentence construction, let those who advance any such action be extremely careful to appear to be truly "educated".

I started school just after the DoEd started sticking their fingers into everything and I noticed as years went by that the quality of education went down (as shown by the numbers). Teachers started teaching how to take a test and not how to learn. As more people started failing that test more often, many programs like PE, music, and art were sacrificed along the way. What have we now? Generations of children who don't know how to learn, don't read often, many don't think for themselves, and most have no appreciation for the arts. In my opinion the DoEd and Jimmy Carter are primarily responsible for the dumbing down of America.

Strange that by the time i got to the 3rd Grade, I could read, write and knew how to multiply. If course that was 1936. today half the graduates cannot write a decent letter and pray tell try to make change for a dollar without a scanner or calculator. My graduate certificate read State of South Carolina and I never saw or heard a Fed regulation and if a real federal dude showed up would have been hanged. No one graduated from High School or got promoted unless they passed and some kids I knew were left tin the 6th Grade until they reached the age of 16 and the State allowed him or her not to attend school. I never ate a hot meal at school since our parents did not believe in someone else feeding their kid. I joined the Army at graduation, 16 years old and most of the boys joined or were drafted. None of us ever went to prison and a few became wealthy but we all went to work and lived a great life. Thank God there were no Dept. of Education to screw us up

I have a right to believe in the Cause of all causes. That First Cause is God, the Creator of all things. No sir, matter isn't eternal. Only God is eternal. No sir, matter didn't create itself. It's stupid to say that matter created itself. ONLY AN ETERNAL GOD CAN CREATE OUT OF NOTHING. If any screwball thinks that matter is eternal, PROVE IT !!!

It's silly to say that matter was created somehow by gravity. You must first have matter in order to have gravity. So how can gravity create matter if matter isn't present? Matter was created out of nothing because the First Cause of all causes, Who is God, created it.

And no, natural science will never explain the supernatural. Forget it.

DNA is a code. All things are encoded with DNA. There is no such thing as random code, therefore there must be an encoder. There is the ultimate encoder: God.

November 23, 2010 at 11:23 pm

Ga nurse

This is true and the one thing we have on our side that they just can not overcome-Our God,, When He returns one day , they will be in a time of tribulation that will be awful but which they deserve unless they change there ways.

There is no such thing as an eternal god, or that the anomaly which we perceive as god is eternal, just older. No science can explain the supernatural anymore than religion can. In observing the universe it is most likely that a non perfect entity (god) is an absentee creator who set in motion the creation of the universe and has no wants from its creation (perfection has no wants or needs it, if its perfect) nor does it care for its outcome. Do we have purpose? Sure, we seek to be happy; everything we do is an avoidance or fear of death or anything which does not make us happy. However this doesn’t mean that our purpose is for our own good, we might have been created for the benefit of other more sophisticated beings or purpose. It would be anthropocentric to believe we are the most important creation.

I would like to know how someone's religion is incompatible with liberty? I would think that if someone believes they are free to believe in whatever they want then their choice of religion is a part of that.

Agree. The first Amendment guarantees this most basic freedom to all Americans. It is difficult to separate liberty and theology as theology cannot be freely practiced without liberty. But for some reason, libertarian-minded people want to practice liberty free from theology and therefore place a premium on liberty above theology. Hence, the author's reference to Dunbar's motivation being rooted in her theology more than liberty.

November 19, 2010 at 11:18 pm

Philosopherking

I consider myself libertarian but I disagree with other libertarians who believe that religion opposes freedom. If you believe an individual has any right to believe what they want then religion seems be inlign with a person's own free-will.

November 20, 2010 at 8:09 am

Julie Mercer

The crux of the matter underlies the very principles at the root of the great "cultural war" being fought in our nation today. Many people feel their liberties are threatened by so-called "religious" people's approach to legislation. And they are probably right to a degree. I'm not sure what the answer is beyond honing your skills to promote your views in a persuasive manner.

You do not have to believe in God to understand how certain behaviors threaten society's well-being as a whole. But again, libertarians and agnostics seem to view individual liberty as supreme and resist acknowledging that cultural influences (including legislative influence)
play a role in shaping our value systems in our communities. "Live and let live" is an incomplete philosophy due to the evil inclinations in mankind, IMHO.

November 20, 2010 at 10:34 am

Philosopherking

Why should the 'whole' be a concern? I always thought the individual is what is the primary and only concern. I know this is to far to the right for some but I think that if society protects the property of each individual then it protects society since society is nothing more than a sum total of material wealth of each person within it.

The spirituality and community comes from people making individual choices about who and what spiritual beliefs they wish to participate in. You make a choice about what religion you practice and who you wish to associate with. The government's only role should be to protect the property of each person.

November 23, 2010 at 10:31 pm

Lavinia

Oh, amen, amen – the "whole" is a figment of the statist imagination and a tool for the manipulation of the individual into giving up what is best for him to those in power.

Exception_________________ Mostly true BUT if your choice of religion involves the murder of people who don't believe as you do, it might be be time to reverse the "Golden Rule" in your case. i.e. do unto them as they would do unto you.

November 25, 2010 at 9:01 am

Philosopherking

That is why the law should protect us from the positive actions of others. A religion might say its OK to murder but most people don't want to be murdered which is why the law must protect the individual's interest over their own life.

This is why the law must protect instead of being thought of as an instruction booklet on how to behave in society. When we think of it as an instruction booklet on our conduct then we get into the debate of 'should the law allow us to murder' but if we think of the law as protection our individual self-interest then we think of the law as something that protects us from the unwanted actions of others. In my opinion, the law should provide security over our individual selves.

Iam not sure what religion you are referring to.but I can tell you that I, As a born again Christian, am (free)to do Gods will,not my own.That is why I still have to confess my sins to Him.I dont have a freepass to do whatever I want,I had that as an unbeliever.

November 27, 2010 at 9:07 am

Mitchina

Read the Qu'ran and Sharia law (the law book of their bible) That is the religion that comes to my mind for the freedom of killing those unlike yourself or who resist being "assimilated" into that faith.

Well, everyone believes in something whether they want to admit it or not. If you want to believe that by some freak accident of nature in some billions of years old primordial pool of amino acids that life just happened, then so be it. But then you would have to believe that same pool spewed out every form of bird, mammal, reptile, fish, plant, etc. So, if I go back to statistical analysis, where most statisticians would say that odds greater than 1:50 million reaches the realm of impossibility, then by all accounts those people would have to believe a miracle of unimaginable proportions just took place.

November 25, 2010 at 8:56 am

Philosopherking

Yes but if you have at least 50 million different star systems in the universe then your odds increase quite a lot. There may be 50 million X 1000 which means life can happen a 1000 different places in the universe.

Your mathematical premise rests on the assumption that all of the 50 million star sytems were identical and therefore functioned as a constant in your formula for successfully producing all of the myriad life forms, all on the same planet, when there were 50 million star systems and hundreds of thousands of planetary combinations within each. Considering how humungously ignorant we are of the workings of the universe, such an assumption on your part would appear to be more like rambling speculation than real solid calulation. But fun to chat about over a beer or three.

November 30, 2010 at 5:59 pm

Philosopherking

I'm assuming its like a cosmic odds games. There are only a few conditions in which life can begin on any planet according to evolutionary theory. Having billions of billions of combinations increases the chance that one of the planets will have the right conditions for producing life. This could be by design or by accident.

From the very beginning of our "new Republic government" it was said that we have inalienable rights…. given to us by God and only God. Maybe that little tidbit is where it all started as being compatible. You may have missed that part and that God's Word is to love thy neighbor and not be prejudice against others – for any reason, religion included. But not included are those religions that promote hate and murder, opposing that of the Word by God (and purdy much every other faith on this planet – including atheism which is considered a religion). I think that would be referring to our current cultural quagmire of the Qu'ran's – Sharia Law faith.